Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Capitol View
ALTHOUGH the race for governor is still two years away, Saturday's election confirmed the standing of the three major candidates and also showed that Mayor Jeremy Harris is in a strong position. Victory leaves Harris
in a strong positionIn some ways Harris is the odd man out, because the other two candidates for governor, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and GOP Chairwoman Linda Lingle, are up front about it. Ask them what they want to do and they say, "Be governor."
With Harris, however, it is a different story.
Going into the race on Saturday, opponents raised the issue of whether Harris should run for re-election without some sort of a clarification about his future plans.
Would he run for governor in two years or would he settle for Honolulu Hale? Harris responded by only saying he wanted to be governor someday, but exactly when was still a question.
That imprecision didn't hurt Harris at all on Saturday night as he became the first Honolulu mayor to win re-election under the nonpartisan election system without a runoff, by getting more than 50 percent of the vote.
He is now free to keep his options open and run the city while organizing a campaign for governor.
But winning Hawaii's biggest race is not like a run for mayor. In fact, no mayor in Hawaii's history has been able to make the walk across Punchbowl from City Hall to the state Capitol.
First you need some sort of a grass-roots organization. You need people in the community who want you to win.
Mazie Hirono should be able to count on portions of the Democratic Party for support and she is expanding her own grass-roots base by touching bases with women's groups. Linda Lingle has already done much to recreate her 1998 campaign team as the new Hawaii GOP, which gives her a ready organization to tap in two years.
Harris' grassroots appear to have been seeded a different way.
His vision-team program, which brings the community into the city planning arena, serves to build a new network.
By getting community activists and others with a stake in specific areas to propose and then work for city improvements, he is able to draw in a new group interested in local politics.
On election night, city officials and former Harris administration members all said that the new city program works to include new people who may turn out to also be new Harris supporters.
WHILE foot soldiers are part of the equation, no one is elected governor without lots of money. Harris has it and with his re-election he keeps his power to raise more.
The race for mayor cost Harris more than $1 million, but he will need at least $2 million for governor. Equally important is the fact that every dollar he takes in is a dollar less going to either Lingle or Hirono.
Asked about her own fund-raising last week, Hirono acknowledged that it is tough to get major donations as lieutenant governor, but she will "do my darnedest to raise what I need."
Two years ago, Lingle raised much of her money in smaller than $200 contributions. With increased efforts by the GOP she may be able to attract more funding but still doesn't have the money-raising power of an incumbent.
Money and troops are the first two parts of the gubernatorial equation. Now Harris, Lingle and Hirono will be addressing the third part -- how their election would make a difference to Hawaii.
Richard Borreca reports on Hawaii's politics every Wednesday.
He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com